Search

The highpoint of the largest Pride event in the South West of England is the annual parade in College Green, right in the heart of Bristol.

“We Are: Proud” is the theme of the day on Saturday, July 14 and at the end of the night Pride will take over the O2 Academy.

Organisers of the event are once again looking forward to welcoming crowds from all over the UK and beyond who will come from across the world to enjoy Pride.

Daryn Carter, one of the organisers of the festival has said: “As one of the only free Prides in the UK, We Are: Proud promises to be bigger and better than ever.

it’s raining men…hallelujah!

“We Are: Proud is a chance for people to stand up and declare that they are proud of who they are, for friends and families to show how proud they are of their loved ones and for the city to not just have a gay Pride but to be truly proud of its LGBT community.

“We are unfunded and will be asking for donations which not only help make Pride happen but will also go to support Freedom Youth, Bristol’s dedicated LGBT Youth Service.”

And guess what? The incoming Lord Mayor of Bristol, Councillor Peter Main is the first openly gay Lord Mayor of Bristol. He’ll be at the parade, no doubt.

From 6pm-11pm artists appearing include: Jessica Wright (The Only Way is Essex), Rogue Minogue, Envy, Miss Jason, Butchesque, James Bedford, Sandra and X Factor finalists, 2 Shoes who will bring the evening to a close.

Then…on Sunday, The Triangle Tour features a Metropolitan Community Church Service in the Triangle Arena at noon. Miss Jason does her Bingo at DMYK at 3pm. There is a cabaret tea party at 2930 at 6pm followed by Wilmas Mad House at The Branksome at 8pm. At 11pm Sheilas cabaret show & stripper is at XChange. The Bakers Arms is open all day for Bourne Free After party drinks.

A double dose of joy has been given to a lesbian couple from Gloucester. After becoming civil partners in June 2010, both woman have given birth to children within five days of each other.

Anna Jones and Kirsty Cox felt that they would never be able to start a family of their own after being unable to afford the lengthy and expensive process of fertility treatment. After Anna’s sister mentioned their plight to her hairdresser, he decided to help the couple and become their sperm donor. As a gay man, he understood their desire to start a family of their own; when the grateful couple accepted his offer, they expected a lengthy wait. Imagine the surprise when both women fell pregnant immediately!

Kirsty gave birth to their daughter Scarlett-Marie, and Anna had son Alfie. The children are now 11 and 10 weeks old respectively, and are often mistaken for twins. We at CCK want to congratulate Kirsty and Anna on their newest additions to their family.This is a wonderful show of support from LGBT community members; would you ever donate an egg or sperm to your friends in the community if you knew they were unable to conceive without expensive treatment? Kirsty and Anna say that the father will be involved in the children’s lives if that’s what he wishes, and it’s great to see everyone coming together to help each other.

We’d love to know what our readers think. Should LGBT families be started only via anonymous donors, or does this happy story demonstrate that sperm banks are not the only way?

The Mardi Gras parade in Sydney, Australia, will have a special guest atop one of their floats this year. The Australian singer Kylie Minogue will be making her way back home to participate in the event, which is a celebration of the Australian LGBT community.

She said in her YouTube video announcing her return to Mardi Gras, “Your support over the years has just been phenomenal and I can’t wait to come home and share that with you. So see you in March.” This will be her third time attending the event.

Kylie began her career in showbiz on the popular soap ‘Neighbours’, before moving into the music industry in 1987 with the launch of her first single, ‘Locomotion’. She will be celebrating a career milestone – 25 years in the music business – with a community in which she has always had a strong fan base.

You can find out more about the Australian Mardi Gras by visiting their website here; it looks like it is going to be a very exciting, special day!

It’s big news, and what better way to tell the surprise than with a cake? The newest craze in America, parents are hosting Gender Reveal parties where friends and family (and often the parents themselves!) find out what sex the baby will be.

When going for an ultrasound, parents are asked if they would like to know the baby’s gender; in the case of parents who want to host a reveal party, instead of looking at the slip of paper, they’ll slip it into an envelope. The parents will then take this envelope to a baker.

The suspense builds until the parents cut the cake; inside, the pink or blue sponge reveals the gender. It’s a wonderful tradition, and a great way to share good news with everybody at once.

It took two very brave women to make history in California this year: in the sixty years that the Miss USA pageant has been running, Jenelle Hutcherson (26) and Mollie Thomas (19) were the first openly gay contestants to compete.

Hutcherson, from Long Beach and Thomas, from West Hollywood, both stated that their platform was that of acceptance. Whilst the Miss USA pageant has very conservative roots, organisers insist that the pageant is all about women being role models and promoting individuality – and who wouldn’t admire these women?

Whilst there have been other lesbian contestants in the pageant world, many of them blend in and don’t make it a known thing. This is a world of long hair and high heels, in a general sense. However, the contestants aren’t judged solely on their super-model looks; this pageant is about charisma, self-confidence, poise and knowing oneself. When Hutcherson wore a tux for the Evening Gown phase, there was no questioning her self-confidence and poise; truly, it’s something to admire.

While the media made rather a large fuss about Hutcherson sporting a mohawk, piercings and tattoos, I don’t think that has much to do with her sexuality. Hopefully, this will encourage other ‘alt’ girls to participate in pageants and not feel that they wouldn’t fit in – you don’t need to be gay to wear a ‘hawk, after all! Her girlfriend, a journalist, wrote a wonderful piece on the entire event. The amount of community support that the Long Beach contestant received is heart warming to see.

For Thomas, this was her first pageant. A part-time student at UCLA, she decided to run to promote awareness for the LGBT community and hopes to become a youth advocate and role model. Having volunteered for a school for handicapped children in Mongolia as well as helping to rebuild homes in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, I’d say that she was already a role model before setting a foot on stage.

Whilst Thomas and Hutcherson won’t be wearing a crown this year, we can only wish these exemplary ladies the very best of luck in their future endeavours.

A lesbian couple made history in Virginia Beach as they shared the first ‘first kiss’ in American military history. The touching scene took place at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek when American Navy troops arrived home from their service on the Oak Hill. The American armed forces lifted their ban on openly gay service in September 2011, so this was the very first time that this couple could display their affection in such a public manner.

For Marissa Gaeta and Citlalic Snell, this was the first time in two years that they could openly display their relationship, as both are fire controlmen in the US Navy, having met while they were roommates in their first training school.A strong American military tradition, the privilege of being the first to disembark and kiss a waiting partner is won via raffle. Gaeta said that she bought 50 tickets at $1 each to heighten her chance of winning; she suspectssome of her division also bought tickets for her.This is certainly the most perfect display of the good that lifting the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy has done; allowing many of the servicemen and women to be open and honest in their relationships. It is wonderful to see such progress being made, and we wish these two lovely ladies the very best!

Here at CCK we’ve been huge fans of Ray’s work for some time – and it seems we aren’t the only ones!

His increasing popularity means that the Open Edition Prints that we stock in the CCK webshop will soon be coming to an end. The last date you can order by is November 30th. With only one week to go, we want to make sure you have time to get your mitts on a signed work of art!

Ray’s work is super sensual, and his strong women show the artists fascination with fantasy and fetish. His leather and latex clad women are beautifully drawn and have been the object for many critics.

This is the last chance to get a piece of Ray Leaning artwork without commissioning a private piece, so don’t miss out! We have a huge selection to choose from so go and have a browse and see what takes your fancy. Support CCK Today!

Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School have stated in a prospective study that the more coffee an adult drinks, the lower their risk of developing basal cell carcinoma, sometimes known as BCC.BCC is the most common form of skin cancer, often presenting itself in early stages as a sore that refuses to heal. Fengju Song Ph.D, co-author of the study, says that there is a inverse relationship between coffee and BCC. This seems like a pretty good reason to drink more of the lovely organic Monmouth Coffee that we sell here at CCK! Not that any of us need an excuse to drink wonderful coffee! Of course, if you have any health concerns it’s best to see a medical professional immediately.

You can find the full article on mediLexicon. We love to know what our readers think, so drop us a line below with your opinion!

When I imagine the Theatre of the Nameless, I imagine a dark, twisted world covered in glitter and hidden, shadowed niches. I imagine a place filled with chandeliers and gold filigree, black latex and knowing smiles. Dancing girls in laced up boots, gentlemen shrugging free of their titles and every one of them anonymous. The Theatre of the Namelessinvites you to take a ticket, leave your coat and abandon your daytime identity.This is the image that Illamasqua brings to life in their Autumn-Winter 2011 Collection. Embracing their slogan ‘make-up for your alter ego’, this London based company has time and time again brought forth exciting, dazzling products.As the days get longer and the temperature begins to drop, I am reminded by every TV advertisement that Christmas is coming. Naturally, this means the start of Christmas parties and the explosion of the winter clubbing scene!

The products that particularly caught my eye were the nail varnishes added to the Theatre of the Nameless collection. These new products go on smooth, and dry with a rubberised finish; with monikers like Vice, Kink, Faux Pas and Taint, the colours are as sinful as their names.

It doesn’t stop there. Lipsticks in all colours to take you from daytime to daring are available in both gloss and matt finishes, boasting names such as Obey (a peachy pink) and Fetish (blueberry violet). Their eyeshadows are versatile and all are reasonably priced for the superb quality provided. Illamasqua has managed to find the balance between corporate and club, allowing us to bring out our darker side and experiment to our hearts’ content.

Here at CCK we always support the right for people to be who they want to be and to express their individualism. I was incredibly pleased to discover that Illamasqua followed the same philosophy and that they provided a chance for their customer to support the Sophie Lancaster Foundation. Their essential black eyeliner pencil, S.O.P.H.I.E, donates £3 of every sale to the foundation; wristbands and £1 donations to the cause are also available on the site.

I have scattered a multitude of hints about the house for the last fortnight in the hopes of finding some of these products in my Christmas stocking; after all, I’ve been a very good girl! Here’s hoping I’ll see some of you sporting weird and wonderful creations out on the dance floor this holiday season!

Now that I’ve shared some of my favourite products with you, why not drop us a line in the comments box and tell us what is essential to your clubbing look? Is there a certain brand you always turn to? What product can’t you live without?

You can also find out more about the Sophie Lancaster Foundation here.

As the school terms begun again, a 10 year old boy in Worchester has chosen to return to school dressed as a girl.

Despite having attended the same school in the past as a boy, the child felt like she was not being true to her true self. His mother is supporting his desire to want a sex change operation once the child has reached the legal age of 18.

The school which the child attends held an assembly at the start of term to let all the children and teachers aware of the situation. Despite the honest way the school has dealt with the situation, some of the parents of the children however have still raised concerns.

The issue of Gender Dysphoria (the feeling of being born the wrong gender) is becoming more commonplace, and this story is just another example of the problems faced by children that suffer from this condition. Fortunately there are a number of organisations that specialise in helping those dealing with Gender Dysphoria cope with the condition, such as the Gender Trust Charity, the Gender Identity Research and Education Society (GIRES), PACE and Looking Glass.

What are your thoughts? Should others be more accepting of people who deal with Gender Dysphoria/Identity Disorder? Should there be more education on the condition in schools? We’d like to know what your opinions are on the issue, so please feel free to comment your thoughts and feelings.

Where else to find us

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 32 other followers

Comments Policy

All comments are subject to moderation; please be patient when waiting for your comment to appear. We reserve the right to delete and edit comments as we deem appropriate.

Hateful speech, harassment, sharing of private information, trolling, spamming and threats will not be tolerated - CCK is a safe space, and we ask that you show respect towards your fellow commenters at all times.